Considering where features and pricing are going with competing tablets, this one may have a limited shelf life

While the SuperNova surpasses its predecessors, the current competition is mighty tough. Unless we uncover some major problem with the Amazon Kindle Fire, that model could very well snuff out Pandigital's latest entry—perhaps, forcing the company to drop the price drastically. And that could make it a good value to snap up on sale.

While the SuperNova surpasses its predecessors, the current competition is mighty tough. Unless we uncover some major problem with the Amazon Kindle Fire, that model could very well snuff out Pandigital's latest entry—perhaps, forcing the company to drop the price drastically. And that could make it a good value to snap up on sale.

Though priced to compete, the Pandigital Supernova lacks the performance and features to seal the deal

There's no more important component of a tablet than its display, as the primary and sometimes only way to interface with the device. So it should go without saying that it helps if the screen is at least bright, with a resolution that keeps details sharp. With the SuperNova, Pandigital seems to...More

There's no more important component of a tablet than its display, as the primary and sometimes only way to interface with the device. So it should go without saying that it helps if the screen is at least bright, with a resolution that keeps details sharp. With the SuperNova, Pandigital seems to have skimped on the quality of the screen to get its price down to $200. This would be bad enough, but unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. The SuperNova is missing full access to the Android Market, and although comfortable to hold, it feels like a toy in the hand instead of a useful gadget. The fact is, $200 is still a lot of money to blow on something that doesn't do what you want it to. That said, the SuperNova works as a very basic tablet and if that's all you're looking for, rest assured, that's what you'll get. However, there are better ways to spend your tablet-craving dollars: devices that are much better values, even at higher prices.

Though priced to compete, it lacks the performance and features to seal the deal

There's no more important component of a tablet than its display, as the primary and sometimes only way to interface with the device. So it should go without saying that it helps if the screen is at least bright, with a resolution that keeps details sharp. With the SuperNova, Pandigital seems to have skimped on the quality of the screen to get its price down to $200. This would be bad enough, but unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. The SuperNova is missing full access to the Android Market, and although comfortable to hold, it feels like a toy in the hand instead of a useful gadget....

There's no more important component of a tablet than its display, as the primary and sometimes only way to interface with the device. So it should go without saying that it helps if the screen is at least bright, with a resolution that keeps details sharp. With the SuperNova, Pandigital seems to have skimped on the quality of the screen to get its price down to $200. This would be bad enough, but unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. The SuperNova is missing full access to the Android Market, and although comfortable to hold, it feels like a toy in the hand instead of a useful gadget.

The fact is, $200 is still a lot of money to blow on something that doesn't do what you want it to. That said, the SuperNova works as a very basic tablet and if that's all you're looking for, rest assured, that's what you'll get. However, there are better ways to spend your tablet-craving dollars: devices that are much better values, even at higher prices.

The Pandigital SuperNova offers an 8-inch capacitive display and longer battery life, but it suffers from sluggish performance and bad design

At $229, the Pandigital SuperNova improves on some of the problem points of the Nova. However, the addition of a capacitive screen, improved battery life, and cameras with more megapixels isn't enough to make the SuperNova a viable competitor to the $199 Kindle Fire. Plagued by poor design, an ug...More

At $229, the Pandigital SuperNova improves on some of the problem points of the Nova. However, the addition of a capacitive screen, improved battery life, and cameras with more megapixels isn't enough to make the SuperNova a viable competitor to the $199 Kindle Fire. Plagued by poor design, an ugly washed-out screen, and a limited app offering, the Pandigital SuperNova can't hold a candle to the Kindle Fire.

A fine tablet for Android geeks to hack, but average buyers should look for a tablet with a better screen

Hack this tablet. Please. The Pandigital SuperNova could be the Amazon Kindle Fire for the geek crowd. An Android tablet with decent specs from a manufacturer that's completely open to people rooting, modding, and re-installing the operating system. There's just one catch: Pandigital has used a d...More

Hack this tablet. Please. The Pandigital SuperNova could be the Amazon Kindle Fire for the geek crowd. An Android tablet with decent specs from a manufacturer that's completely open to people rooting, modding, and re-installing the operating system. There's just one catch: Pandigital has used a dim, low-res screen, which seriously reduces the appeal of this tablet.

An alternative to the Kindle or Nook if you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of screen quality and a bit more convenience

As an e-reader, the Pandigital Novel does exactly what it is supposed to do: decently displays the pages of e-books, e-magazines, and other electronic periodicals. It’s fairly quick to switch from one page to the next, and it has useful navigation features—especially its touch screen....More

As an e-reader, the Pandigital Novel does exactly what it is supposed to do: decently displays the pages of e-books, e-magazines, and other electronic periodicals. It’s fairly quick to switch from one page to the next, and it has useful navigation features—especially its touch screen. Certainly, all the additional things the Novel can do adds to its appeal, but the bottom-line usefulness of many of them is a bit suspect. The most compelling feature of the Novel, in the end, is its low price, coming in at a bit less than you’d pay for the Wi-Fi-only version of either the Kindle or the NOOK. If you're very budget-strapped, that may be an acceptable compromise—and the more so the further you can find the Novel below its current $119 price. But be aware that you’ll be making some concessions in screen quality and the ease of browsing and buying books.

You would expect more from a $199 color screen eReader

Whether or not you fall on this side of the LCD vs. e-Ink eReader display debate, the Pandigital Novel is not the best exemplar of the former category. The device has some potential, and perhaps upgrades to the firmware and software can improve some of the frustrating flaws we encountered--after...More

Whether or not you fall on this side of the LCD vs. e-Ink eReader display debate, the Pandigital Novel is not the best exemplar of the former category. The device has some potential, and perhaps upgrades to the firmware and software can improve some of the frustrating flaws we encountered--after all, that's what Barnes & Noble did with the Nook. Until then, consumers will be better off with the Kindle, Nook, or iPad.

It tries to be an e-book reader and tablet computer simultaneously, and fails at both tasks

Like the Entourage Edge, the Pandigital Novel reminds me of an earlier era, back when vendors were experimenting with handheld computers and trying out different kinds of interfaces. Usability problems like this would have been an issue, but not a dealbreaker, in the 1990s, since the Novel does s...More

Like the Entourage Edge, the Pandigital Novel reminds me of an earlier era, back when vendors were experimenting with handheld computers and trying out different kinds of interfaces. Usability problems like this would have been an issue, but not a dealbreaker, in the 1990s, since the Novel does so much. But today, there is no reason for this level of frustration. If you want a budget e-book reader, the Wi-Fi-only Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook are much better buys. Even the Kindle 3G, which lets you buy books anywhere there is cellular data signal, costs $10 less. Somewhere out there, some company is working on a proper, low-cost Android tablet that could render e-ink-based e-book readers like those two obsolete. Sadly, the Novel isn't it.

It’s not even good enough to provide a comfortable reading experience

As we stated at the start, we actually can't believe that Novel has made its way onto so many shelves across the country -- just Googling the product name shows that it's being sold at tons of popular retailers. The poor touchscreen, sluggish processor and sometimes confusing interface cripple th...More

As we stated at the start, we actually can't believe that Novel has made its way onto so many shelves across the country -- just Googling the product name shows that it's being sold at tons of popular retailers. The poor touchscreen, sluggish processor and sometimes confusing interface cripple the device to the point where it can't even manage its main task of turning pages and providing a comfortable reading experience. There's no beating around the bush on this one -- those looking for a cheap e-reader will be better suited by the WiFi-equipped $149 Nook or $139 Kindle. As for those looking for a solid performing, cheap tablet that can manage e-books and surfing the web in full color, well, for that we all still wait...

It needs to be lighter, with a far better screen and a more-responsive touch interface to truly be a contender

While in theory I like the idea of having a tablet that does more, with such multipurpose functionality, in practice I found using the Novel tiresome enough that these experiences are better left to a smartphone handset than to this larger screen device. The photo viewer was especially frustratin...More

While in theory I like the idea of having a tablet that does more, with such multipurpose functionality, in practice I found using the Novel tiresome enough that these experiences are better left to a smartphone handset than to this larger screen device. The photo viewer was especially frustrating--images looked mediocre, and were slow to read from, and transfer via, the SD Card slot.If the Pandigital Novel were priced lower, maybe I'd be forgiving of its numerous faults. For those that need a portable device and who don't have a smartphone, I can see where this might have appeal at first blush. It's a first, positive step into the tablet universe, but it needs to be lighter, with a far better screen and a more-responsive touch interface to truly be a contender.

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